Dissertation: Concurrent engineering improves product development performance
The purpose of Alemu Moges Belay’s research is to model concurrent engineering and improve product development performance by considering multi-attributes, such as cost and time and investigate the effects of related concepts for better results. Field of the study is industrial management.
– The research shows that concurrent engineering has a potential to enhance product development performance, e.g. in cost and time reduction. The result of the models and simulations show that concurrent engineering could improve profitability by reducing lost revenue, Belay tells.
Research also shows that previous efforts of considering concurrent engineering related concepts like, TQM and BPR show positive results in product development performance.
The results in the case study demonstrate that these efforts support the application of concurrent engineering concepts and improve the product delivery time. The research also showed the quantified concurrent engineering models using system dynamics approach in product development processes can help managers to make knowledge-based decisions.
Although further studies are needed to replicate the results, the research provides an original contribution to look concurrent engineering from multi-perspective and understand concurrent engineering thoroughly to support its implementation both for labor intensive and firms with complex products.
– As a limitation, the research incorporates different approaches and methods that make the conclusion a bit difficult. Similar research has to be conducted in several firms so that the integration of concurrent engineering and other related methods would help to have profound results and conclusions, Belay explains.
The research employed a mixed research strategy of using qualitative and quantitative methods. Case study, survey, mathematical and system dynamics modeling are the main methodologies used.
The public examination of M.Sc. Alemu Moges Belay’s doctoral dissertation ”Modeling Concurrent Engineering to Improve Product Development Performance” will be on Monday 16 December at 12 o´clock in auditorium Kurtén (Tervahovi). Professor Roger J. Jiao (Georgia Institute of Technology) will act as an opponent and Professor Petri Helo as a custos.
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